HB 0661

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations
2	Committee recommends the following:
3
4	Council/Committee Substitute
5	Remove the entire bill and insert:
6	A bill to be entitled
7	An act relating to governmental services telephone
8	systems; creating s. 365.180, F.S.; providing legislative
9	findings; defining the term "coordinated 311 nonemergency
10	and other governmental services telephone system";
11	authorizing the Department of Community Affairs to accept
12	and administer funds to provide grants for certain
13	governmental services telephone systems; authorizing
14	counties and municipalities to apply for grants; requiring
15	a county or municipality to provide matching funds;
16	providing procedures for approval of grant awards;
17	requiring approval by the Secretary of Community Affairs
18	or appropriation by the Legislature; providing for certain
19	limitations on grant funds amounts; requiring a report to
20	the Governor and the Legislature detailing expenditures;
21	authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
22	application evaluation criteria; providing grants may be
23	awarded as appropriated or as made available from private
24	sources; providing an effective date.
25
26	WHEREAS, in 1997, the Federal Communications Commission
27	authorized the use of 311 as a telephone number for
28	"nonemergency police and other governmental services," and
29	WHEREAS, in 2001, the Legislature authorized a 311 pilot
30	project in chapter 2001-133, Laws of Florida, to improve the
31	overall efficiency of 911 telephone systems and reduce 911
32	emergency response times, and
33	WHEREAS, several counties and municipalities in Florida
34	have thus far implemented 311 telephone systems that provide a
35	single access point to nonemergency and other governmental
36	services, and
37	WHEREAS, 311 alleviates congestion on 911 circuits and
38	helps make 911 emergency systems more efficient by diverting
39	nonemergency calls that could impede emergency responses, and
40	WHEREAS, 311 has proven to be critical during hurricanes
41	and other emergency situations and disasters by diverting many
42	calls from 911 emergency systems and keeping 911 open and
43	available for truly life-threatening situations, and
44	WHEREAS, 311 provides important information not only to
45	citizens, but to government by providing data about the source
46	of and the reasons for calls, and
47	WHEREAS, 311's greatest value is its ability to coordinate
48	the efforts of municipalities, counties, and other state and
49	local jurisdictions to provide an integrated, seamless single
50	source for nonemergency and other governmental services, and
51	WHEREAS, 311 systems could provide mutual aid to
52	neighboring areas by serving as backup call centers under
53	circumstances where disaster may disable local city or county
54	communication networks, and
55	WHEREAS, 911 was established to provide "rapid direct
56	access to public safety agencies," and the Florida 211 Network
57	was established to provide "coordination for information and
58	referral for health and human services," and
59	WHEREAS, 311 serves as an effective component of unified
60	governmental services which complements but does not duplicate
61	the services provided by 911 and 211, NOW, THEREFORE,
62
63	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
64
65	Section 1.  Section 365.180, Florida Statutes, is created
66	to read:
67	365.180  Coordinated 311 nonemergency and other
68	governmental services telephone system grant program; grants for
69	operation; funding; approval; allocation.--
70	(1)  The Legislature finds that a 311 telephone system for
71	nonemergency and other governmental services may reduce the
72	volume of nonemergency calls to 911 public safety answering
73	points, particularly in times of a disaster. The Legislature
74	further finds that 311 systems improve public access to
75	government by providing seamless access to various governmental
76	entities, enhancing coordination among state and various local
77	jurisdictions, and improving service delivery.
78	(2)  As used in this section, the term "coordinated 311
79	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone system"
80	means a 311 system that is multijurisdictional in nature such
81	that it is designed to provide seamless access to nonemergency
82	and other governmental services.
83	(3)  The Department of Community Affairs may accept and
84	administer funds that are appropriated to it for providing
85	grants to counties and municipalities for the operation of a
86	coordinated 311 nonemergency and other governmental services
87	telephone system.
88	(4)  A county or municipality may apply for a grant of
89	state funds to support the implementation and operation of a
90	coordinated 311 nonemergency and other governmental services
91	telephone system.
92	(5)  A state grant awarded under this section must be
93	matched by a contribution from the county or municipality in an
94	amount equal to $1 for each $1 awarded under this section.
95	(6)  The Department of Community Affairs shall review each
96	application submitted under subsection (4) for a grant to
97	implement a coordinated 311 nonemergency and other governmental
98	services telephone system and, annually, shall submit a list of
99	all applications received and a list of the systems that are
100	recommended for the award of grants, arranged in order of
101	priority, to the secretary of the Department of Community
102	Affairs for the secretary's approval. The Department of
103	Community Affairs may allocate grants only for coordinated 311
104	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone systems
105	that are approved by the secretary or for which funds are
106	appropriated by the Legislature.
107	(7)  The annual amount of any one grant made under this
108	section may not exceed the lesser of $2.5 million or 50 percent
109	of the total annual cost of operating the coordinated 311
110	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone system.
111	The total amount of the grants awarded to a coordinated 311
112	nonemergency and other governmental services telephone system in
113	a 5-year period may not exceed $10 million.
114	(8)  Each 311 system receiving state matching funds shall
115	submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
116	and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 15,
117	2007, detailing how the funds appropriated for the 311 system
118	were spent.
119	(9)  The Department of Community Affairs may adopt rules
120	pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 prescribing the criteria
121	to be applied to applications for grants and rules providing for
122	the administration of this section. The application evaluation
123	criteria shall, at a minimum, include the following:
124	(a)  The population of the applicant county or
125	municipality.
126	(b)  Prior establishment of a 311 number by the applicant
127	county or municipality.
128	(c)  The interoperability between the proposed 311 system
129	and the existing 911 public safety answering points within the
130	applicant county or municipality.
131	(d)  The commitment of funds by the applicant county or
132	municipality beyond the minimum match contribution.
133	(e)  The long-range plan for sustainability of the proposed
134	311 system submitted by the applicant county or municipality.
135	Section 2.  Grants for the coordinated 311 nonemergency and
136	other governmental services telephone system grant program
137	within the Department of Community Affairs may be awarded to the
138	extent funds are appropriated in law or made available from
139	private sources.
140	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.